One problem experienced by manufacturers of electrical apparatus that service various markets around the world is the non-standardized nature of input power voltage. For example, in certain countries such as the United States, alternating current power of about 120 volts is typically used as the input power signal. In certain other countries, alternating current power at about 220 or 230 volts may be most commonly available or used.
Furthermore, for certain electrical apparatus, the available input power can have characteristics (e.g. voltage and/or phase) that are specific to the particular context in which the electrical apparatus is intended to be used. For example, certain power storage systems can include an inverter that transforms stored direct current power (e.g. stored via a system of batteries) into alternating current power having certain characteristics. Such characteristics can be unique to the particular context in which the power storage system is used.
Thus, when designing electrical apparatus for international use or different customer contexts, the input power stage of the apparatus must frequently be customized to match the different supply voltages and/or number of phases that will be available at the intended location of apparatus usage.
This customization can require constant re-engineering and redesign of the apparatus for each customer or location at which the input power will be different. As a result, the purchase and stocking of small quantities of many different components such as transformers may be required, resulting in increased production costs due to the inability to leverage quantity discounts.
Furthermore, the use of different product models is inefficient from a manufacturing, inventory, and distribution perspective. For example, the manufacturer can be required to maintain different stock keeping units (SKUs) for each model configuration, thereby exponentially increasing the number of unique SKUs and introducing a level of redundancy. As another example, inventory tracking, sales, distribution, and other business activities must be managed for each configuration or in a customer-specific fashion, rather than for a single apparatus product as a whole. As such, a customer designation can be prevented from moving from one product to another to adjust shipment schedules.
Therefore, universal power conversion devices for alternating current electrical apparatus are needed.